Mirror of <https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/data/data-cloud-query-guide/references/dc-sql-reference/formatting-func.html> (Salesforce, Data 360 Query Guide), read 2026-10-23. Salesforce's own page is the authority; this copy exists because that site refuses non-browser readers.

Data Type Formatting Functions

Applies to: ✅ Data 360 SQL ✅ Tableau Hyper API

Functions that convert between numbers, dates, and timestamps and their string representations. Use data type formatting functions to:

Format numbers for display by converting numeric values to strings with custom patterns.
Parse date and time strings by converting text input into typed date or timestamp values.
Generate readable output by formatting timestamps and intervals into locale-friendly strings.

NULL handling: All formatting functions return NULL when any argument is NULL.
Pattern syntax: Date and time formatting uses TO_CHAR patterns (such as YYYY-MM-DD). Numeric formatting uses FORMAT_NUMBER patterns (such as #,###.0).

Convert typed values to formatted strings:

FORMAT_NUMBER — Convert a number to a string using a format pattern.
TO_CHAR — Convert a timestamp or interval to a string using a format pattern.

Convert strings to typed date and time values:

TO_DATE — Convert a string to a date using a format pattern.
TO_TIMESTAMP — Convert a string to a timestamp using a format pattern.

Convert a numeric value to a string with thousands separators and decimal places.

Returns '1,234,567.89'.

Convert a text date into a typed date value for comparison or arithmetic.

Returns 2000-12-05.

Convert the current timestamp into a human-readable string.

Returns a string such as 'Tuesday, 6 May 2025 03:22:45 PM'.